How to Protect Your Computers Against Conficker

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by: Mark Robinsson

A lot of people were not looking forward to April 1, 2009. It could have been April Fool’s Day, but no one wants to be joked about Conficker. This worm is considered to be the most dangerous of all the viruses that you can get into your computers. Its predecessors had infected between 9 million and 15 million computers. A vendor of an antivirus software known as Panda Security has discovered that 6 percent of the 2 million computers that had been analyzed had Conficker in them.

What’s the problem with Conficker?

One of the primary reasons why Conficker is greatly avoided is because of its resistance to anti-malware programs. In fact, it can disable all your antivirus applications, until it can be very hard to remove. Worse, there are rumors that whoever is controlling the worm can eventually steal all the personal information in your computer or laptop, such as your name, password, address, and credit card number. Of course, it can slow down your PC and destroy your files.

How do you combat Conficker?

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways on how you can prevent or even remove Conficker out of your computer system. You can start by checking the tell-tale signs.

If you’re running Linux or Mac, you don’t have to worry about it. Conficker affects only MS Windows operating systems. Now, if you own the latter, there are several things that you need to be vigilant of. First, check the Internet speed. Conficker, as mentioned, can slow down your Internet connection. Then, visit some websites, especially those of antivirus websites like Eset, AVG, and Avira. The worm has the ability to block your access to these.

On the other hand, if you have an anti-virus software installed in your laptop or PC, check if you can obtain updates for it. This is especially true with Automatic Updates. If you’re receiving errors, or you are no longer able to do so because of change in your lockout policies, then your computer may have already been infected by Conficker.

What do you do when you’re infected?

When you have determined that your computer may have been infected with Conficker, the next best thing is to get rid of it. Since you can no longer run your Windows Update, your next best option is to settle for free anti-malware programs. These are the ones that have been proven to work with Conficker. We are talking about Stinger of McAfee, Win32/Conficker Worm Removal of Eset, W32.Downadup of Symantec and Conficker Cleanup of Sophos. You need to download these programs in another computer, save them in a media device such as a USB, and install them into your computer or laptop.

You also need to disconnect your computer from the Internet and even from the LAN. The worm can still spread to other computers if yours, the infected one, is connected to a network. It’s important that you can back your computer or even your data files up, especially if they are very important. If you’re running a Windows XP, avoid using the System Restore method. When you do so, you will only be reactivating the worm.

Other Important Things to Keep in Mind

In battling with Conficker, always remember to use nothing but only real Windows operating system. This is how you can constantly receive updates for your computer, and you can protect your system from Conficker. Your anti-virus program itself will not only note of its presence, but will also remove it from your PC.

Like any other virus or worm, you can get it in different sources, most notably the World Wide Web. It has been known that it can infect thousands of websites. Every time that you’re going to open them, the worm will be downloaded into your computer. As much as possible, avoid opening dubious websites. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have a way of letting you know if the website can be trusted or not. If it says the latter, don’t force yourself to open it.

You must also avoid receiving suspicious e-mails, even if they come from friends and family members. The worm may come in the form of attachments, and when you click on it, it will be activated.

About The Author

Mark Robinsson writes for http://GizmoDesk.com. It's a technology blog about consumer electronics.